ID CARD LAW TO GO INTO EFFECT

PEMBROKE PINES -- Police on Friday will begin taking applications and fingerprints of the owners and employees of electrical firms, plumbing businesses and drug stores as the city implements its controversial identification-card ordinances.

"I don't know what we'll get first, workers or the ACLU, but we're going to kick it off Friday and see," Police Chief John J. Lombardo said. The ordinances are expected to face legal challenges.

Other trades and businesses whose practicioners or employees will have to register and obtain cards are exterminating, pool maintenance, landscaping, carpentry, auto repair, roofing, bingo parlors and pinball arcades.

People covered by the ordinances will be required to submit fingerprints and fill out application forms on their backgrounds. Based on the information, police will determine whether the applicants possess the skills, knowledge and moral character necessary for their jobs.

Applicants then will be given photo identification cards that officials say must be carried to work in the city.

Police on Friday also will put into use a related ordinance that allows anyone in any business or profession to request a voluntary identification card.

The voluntary cards will certify only that no warrants are outstanding for the holder on the day the card was issued. No fingerprints will be required and applicants need not undergo background checks.

The cards, however, will be identical to those issued under the mandatory ordinance, which does require holders to submit to fingerprinting and background checks.

To distinguish between the two sets of standards, police said they will type the words "mandatory" and "voluntary" on the front of each card.

In an effort to reduce the number of burglaries, the City Commission on Feb. 17 approved the mandatory-card law. The voluntary-card ordinance was adopted a month later.

The mandatory-card law called for enforcement to begin four weeks after adoption. The city delayed enforcement, however, until City Attorney Steven L. Josias prepared the application forms that will be used by police to determine the applicants' qualifications. The wording of the forms may be crucial in any court challenge, officials said.

Another snag was finding a way for the city to escape liability if a card holder commits a crime. Some residents, officials said, may think that by issuing cards the city will be certifying the holder is safe and reliable.